Ask 411 Wrestling: Did Steve Austin Get Roddy Piper Fired from WWE?

Welcome guys, gals, and gender non-binary pals.

Through Hel Stryer and brimstone . . . it’s Ask 411 Wrestling!

I am your party host, Ryan Byers, and I am here to answer some of your burning inquiries about professional wrestling. If you have one of those queries searing a hole in your brain, feel free to send it along to me at [email protected]. Don’t be shy about shooting those over – the more, the merrier.

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This week, my backlog of questions is looking pretty large, so we’re going to trim it back by answering SEVENTY queries in one installment of the column.

All of them come from your good friend Tyler from Winnipeg

Here goes:

1. What’s the overall summary of Edge having to retire for many many years? It seems like WWE doctor’s said “no more” but why many many years than “it’s good now”? Was it acting career going pretty good he Edge didn’t push the issue? Was he still getting paid by WWE on the shelf for many many retirement years? Whats the real story!

The answer is essentially that he had a triple neck fusion surgery, and the belief of doctors at the time was that there was no conceivable way that he could return after what that procedure did to his body. However, he remained in contact with physicians after the fact, and it was ultimately determined that he healed much better than anybody would have ever expected, likely due to his training regimen, advances in medical technology, and just some dumb luck.

ESPN did a detailed account of the comeback and everything leading up to it back in 2020.

2. Besides members of DX, give me five wrestlers who did crotch chop flashes to the fans.

Wrestlers who were feuding with DX regularly did crotch chops as a means of taunting them with their own signature gesture. I was able to find footage of Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, and the Rock all doing just that at various points.

Kevin Nash and Scot Hall also performed crotch chops in WCW, which makes sense because it started as a gesture used by the Clique behind the scenes before it turned into an on-camera part of DX’s act.

That’s it. That’s five.

3. Did The Wrestling Observer Newsletter ever publish hypothetical thinking about making Ken Shamrock the WWF champ?

I’m not sure what the phrase “hypothetical thinking” means here, but the Observer issues covering the Montreal screwjob did report that one of the options Bret Hart said he was comfortable with as opposed to losing to Shawn Michaels in Montreal was dropping the WWF Championship to Shamrock.

4. Did The Ultimate Warrior’s HOF sendoff get the attention it deserves?

I’m going to say no, it doesn’t, because it is an INCREDIBLY bizarre coincidence that he died within 24 hours of his Wrestlemania weekend run with WWE in 2014, and it seems nobody ever comments on that.

5. Did Raven make the most money thru WWE or ECW or WCW or TNA?

It almost assuredly was not ECW or TNA, because they were significantly smaller promotions than WWE or WCW during Raven’s runs there.

Between WWE and WCW, it is hard to say simply because the data isn’t available. We do know almost exactly what Raven made in WCW, because the data came out in discovery during the company’s racial discrimination lawsuit and was published by Indeed Wrestling years ago. In total, Raven received $662,782.00 from the Turner-owned organization, the bulk of it being earned between 1997 and 1999 but a little bit from merch sales still trickling to him in 2000 despite his no longer being with the company.

We don’t have exact figures regarding his WWE pay, though his 1993 and 2000 contracts with the company are available on Wrestlenomics. We don’t have exact figures because, in 1993, wrestlers did not get any guaranteed money at all and were just paid a percentage of the gate of the shows they wrestled on. Meanwhile, in 2000, WWF wrestlers were receiving a “downside guarantee” (a minimum amount of pay per year), but many made more than their downside due to pay per view bonuses, merchandise, and other items that sweetened the pot. Raven’s downside under the 2000 deal was $75,000 in the first year, $150,000 in the second year, and $200,000 in the third year, though he was released before he would have hit the third year of the contract.

Thus, it does seem possible that he would have been making more in WCW, but, again, we don’t know how much over his downside he was pulling in WWE.

6. In Mid-South, Bill Watts seemed to push African-Americans, why in some circles is he labeled as racist?

The biggest public episode that lead to Bill Watts being called a racist was a 1991 interview with the PW Torch, in which he effectively said that private businesses should be able to discriminate based on a customer’s race, that “the black countries” were “all broke,” and that being brought to America through the slave trade was the best thing that ever happened to “the black race.”

Truly vile, reprehensible comments all around, and you can imagine that if he said these things publicly in one interview, he was likely saying all the same and perhaps worse throughout his private life.

Oh, and he also talked about gay people and used the f-slur multiple times in that same interview, so we add some homophobia in to that racism as well.

In short, if Tony Khan ever tries to hire Bill Watts, expect Warner Brothers Discovery to block it.

7. What’s Yokozuna’s legacy in wrestling?

For a window of a couple of years, he was one of the single most impressive big man performers the business has seen, because nobody moved as nimbly as he did at the size he hit. However, he flamed out very quickly because he equated his success to his mass and just kept getting bigger, eventually losing control of his body weight.

8. If you throw out the interviews, the look, the merch; if Stone Cold Steve Austin was just a mechanic, like he was against big name opponents in big matches, would Stone Cold Steve Austin be one of the greatest wrestlers on fundamentals alone?

It depends on what set of “fundamentals” you’re talking about. I feel like a lot of times when fans refer to the fundamentals of wrestling, they are referring to the ability hang in a technical, mat-based match the way that a Jack Brisco or a Bret Hart might have been able to. Steve Austin was certainly not that type of wrestler.

However, there’s a different set of fundamentals that, at least in my opinion, are even more important. Those are the fundamentals of ring psychology, the ability to be able to tell a story and to use your body to manipulate a crowd, with it’s 15 people or 50,000. Steve Austin was one of the all-time greats in terms of those fundamentals. You can’t get to the level that he did in the business without having a very, very strong grasp on that set of skills.

9. Do you prefer Steve Austin or Hulk Hogan footage?

Austin by a country mile. There’s much more depth to his performances, both in the ring and on the stick.

10. Did WCW stop making a profit because they weren’t drawing crowds?

Yes, and their payroll was bloated, meaning they were deficient on both the revenue side and the expense side of their ledger.

11. Is Tazz in your top 10 for play by play/color talkers?

Yes. He made Michael Cole tolerable when they were together on Smackdown, and any color commentator who can do that deserves a world of respect.

12. How many stars for Stone Cold winning his first WWF belt over HBK?

Two-ish. It was severely hampered by Michaels’ bad back and his reduced effort due to the fact that he was doing the job. Austin’s insane popularity at the time and the Mike Tyson angle managed to carry the day, though, leading to the moment being fondly remembered even if the match was just OK.

13. I watched a YouTube clip that was well over 2 hours long of Conan O’Brien interviewing wrestlers over a 25 year old span. Have you enjoyed any Conan interviews when it comes to a wrestler? If so, any examples?

The only one I really remember ever seeing is his interview with Goldust heading in to Wrestlemania XII, which is noteworthy because it mainly consists of Dustin Rhodes trying to bait Conan into doing some stereotypical 1990s “gay panic” comedy and O’Brien basically no-selling it until Goldust climbed under his desk and got a couple of inches away form his crotch.

14. Considering The Dudley Boys’ impact when wrestling was on fire; are they a top three?

No. At a bare minimum, the Midnight Express, Rock ‘n Roll Express, and Road Warriors all top the Dudleys in my book. There are probably some others that I’d also rank over the Duds, but the question was top three, so . . .

15. I’m glad I got to see Angle and HBK have a number of matches; which Angle and HBK is a “bread and butter” encounter?

I have no idea what you’re trying to ask here.

16. Is Booker T underrated?

Questions asking whether a wrestler is underrated or overrated are always hard for me because they rarely specify who is doing the underrating or overrating.

By fans, I don’t think that Booker T is underrated or overrated. I would say that the general consensus that I see from wrestling fans is a fair evaluation of his talent and place in history, which is to say that he’s a top guy but he’s not THE top guy.

By those who were booking him, particularly in WWE, I would say that Booker T was a bit underrated. He was in the main event mix but never held the promotion’s primary championship at a time when he easily could have. (And, yes, I know he had the World Heavyweight Title, but that was at a point when it was unquestionably secondary to the WWE Title.)

17. What do you think of the Bret Hart vs 1-2-3 Kid match?

Excellent. In fact, I would say it is in contention for the title of best Monday Night Raw match of the 1990s.

18. Was MJF vs Samoa Joe 5 Stars?

No.

19. Why did Goldberg flatten Sid’s car?

They were feuding at the time, and it was something that the babyface Goldberg did to show up the heel Sid.

20. If Kurt Angle didn’t put over John Cena, how much would be different?

If you’re referring to Cena’s Smackdown debut in 2002, Angle actually didn’t put him over. Cena lost the match.

21. Is Bret Hart’s match versus Davey Boy Smith in the UK one of Bret’s best matches?

Yes. It would be a great match even if it were in front of an average audience, but the fact that it occurred in the largest non-kayfabe crowd in WWF history up to that point really gives it something special in terms of atmosphere. Plus, when you learn that Smith was blown up moments into the match and Hart was basically wrestling himself the whole time, you gain a new level of respect for just how great the Hitman was.

22. Over his long career, for a letter grade, what does Lex get for his selling on defense?

D. That was never his strong suit.

23. As an ten year old; Yokozuna running roughshod across all challenges in the WWF, I thought he was unstoppable; thoughts?

He was not unstoppable. Wrestling is fake, and his opponents were letting him win. I’m sorry you had to find out this way.

24. Despite the “shave your back” chants directed at A-Train, would you consider him a B category wrestler?

No. He was a mid-carder throughout his career despite flirting with main events at times in Japan, and I can’t say you’re a b-category wrestler if that’s the case. In my mind, b-tier wrestlers are those who were regular main eventers but not legends . . . like the previously mentioned Booker T.

25. Top three SummerSlam matches?

Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect, Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart, Bret Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith

26. How good was Bradshaw as WWE Champion on SmackDown!?

Not great. The show’s viewership really dropped off during his reign, so apparently he was not engaging fans.

27. Who had a better career Macho Man or Mick Foley?

Both had careers that most wrestlers would kill for, but I’m giving the nod to Savage on this one as his talent and potential were realized right off the bat and he almost immediately started ascending to the top of the sport where he remained for the rest of his career. On the other hand, Foley had to slum it on the indies for quite a while before getting a big break, and he also overstayed his welcome in wrestling by tacking on a TNA run that nobody asked for or particularly liked. His peak years were excellent and his highs were just as high as Savage’s, but his lows were much lower than the Macho Man’s.

28. Do you prefer Sami Zayn or Kevin Owens?

Owens. I consider them pretty equal as wrestlers, but K.O. is the better of the two on the stick, and that puts him over the top in my opinion.

29. I haven’t sent you a question in a month, here we go: Why didn’t Billy Gunn eventually take over the leadership role of DX? I think he was a phenomenal wrestler who could have done “Iron Man” matches!

First off, I think you’re significantly overrated Billy Gunn as an in-ring performer. He was good enough as a tag wrestler, but I never thought he had the chops as a single.

As far as a bigger push is concerned, the WWF did try him out as a major singles heel when they gave him a match against the Rock at Summerslam 1999. It didn’t work out, and he was never used in that capacity again.

29. Do you prefer Bobby Heenan or Jerry Lawler as a color voice?

Heenan, and I’ve never met a person who would say otherwise.

30. With the vast wrestling experience Jerry Lawler gained, was anybody in a color commentary role as good as Lawler considering his 20 plus years from the desk?

The answer to this one logically follows from my answer to the previous question.

31. In your opinion, what year did you enjoy Kane the most?

Despite his legendarily bad match with Kronik, Kane really had his working shoes on in 2001 and put out some surprisingly good matches against the likes of A-Train and Kurt Angle. With the WWF roster having gotten so much bigger and more talented due to the influx of the Radicals in 2000 and additional WCW wrestlers in 2001, it strikes me that a lot of the talent who had been around the WWF for a while felt pressure to up their games so as to not get left in the dust.

32. Is Mankind’s first WWE title victory in the top 10 moments for Monday Night Raw’s history?

Definitely. It was a true feel good moment, where the audience was overjoyed not just for Mankind as a character but also for Mick Foley as a real human being. You can count those moments in all of wrestling – not just Monday Night Raw – on your fingers.

33. When Kofi Kingston was billed as being from Jamaica and he was the IC champ on the RAW brand, what match was the highlight?

The most memorable one is the bout in which Randy Orton snapped and called him “stupid, stupid, stupid.”

34. What did you think when Mr Perfect came out of retirement to tag with The Macho Man? Hint: Bobby Heenan was involved!

I was always a Perfect fan, so I was interested to an extent. However, I did feel it was a bit less than ideal because I preferred heel Curt Hennig to babyface Curt Hennig.

33. When Goldberg was on top in WCW, would you sat his star power was in the all-time fan favorite groundswell of all time?

What?

35. Any chance Anna Jay gets signed by WWE?

There have been reports circulating that her AEW contract will expire in spring 2026, and her current promotion has not been using her, which is their M.O. when somebody is getting ready to head to WWE. So, it certainly seems that is what is going to happen.

36. As far as roping in causal fans, is Hogan vs Warrior at Wrestlemania in Toronto top 5?

Though it was a big match among wrestling fans, I have never seen any indication that Hogan/Warrior garnered mainstream attention any more than other Hogan main events of the era.

37. Does Ron Simmons get the credit he deserves?

Yes. He gets the legend treatment from WWE. I’m not sure what more you could want for him.

38. When it comes to matches, who had the best: Chris Jericho, RVD, or Eddie Guerrero?

Jericho may have had some better individual matches, but in terms of consistency over the course of their entire career, Guerrero tops this list for me. Van Dam could perform the most impressive athletic spots of the three, but he was not nearly as good as incorporating those spots into matches as they other two were.

39. If the best big man feud Kane vs Taker?

In a world where Stan Hansen and Vader wrestled each other multiple times, no, Undertaker vs. Kane is not the best big man feud in history.

40. When Kevin Nash faced off against The Giant at WCW Uncensored who was the bigger wrestling star?

It was Nash. He was a former WWF Champion and was part of the crew that kicked off one of the biggest angles in wrestling history. The Giant didn’t have near the same level of bona fides at that point, though he would eventually develop into a wrestler who I quite prefer to Nash.

41. For worldwide fame is Andre The Giant in the top five?

There is definitely a case to be made to be made for this, given that Andre was a star in all three major wrestling markets of the U.S./Canada, Japan, and Mexico, as well as the smaller market of his native Europe. Plus, he was on top during the 1980s wrestling boom period and, even going beyond that, he was immortalized in Shepard Fairey’s Obey Giant series of street art.

Though I will probably never be able to conduct this study, I do think that if you were to hold pictures of wrestlers up to random individuals throughout the world, Andre would be among the most frequently recognized.

42. Who threw better right hands; Austin, Rock or Angle?

It’s Austin. The Rock’s punches always looked too much like open-hand slaps to me, and Angle’s punches are so unremarkable that I remember virtually nothing about them without the benefit of video tape.

43. Would you ever have imagined that Shane “Hurricane” Helms has surpassed both Hardy Brothers in terms of management position in the WWE?

Yes. Getting a backstage job isn’t just about being the biggest star. It’s also about having a good mind for the business and being able to be a reliable employee in a corporate environment. Though Shane Helms hasn’t exactly been a Boy Scout at all times during his career, he’s not had near the level of substance and other personal issues that have plagued the Hardys. He’s just got a better head on his shoulders, and that makes him a better pick to act as an agent.

44. I heard somewhere that Gorilla Monsoon actually had an ownership stake in the WWF, is this true?

Yes, Monsoon owned a piece of the WWF prior to Vince McMahon Jr. becoming the owner (via Titan Sports) in 1982. This is one of the reasons why Vince Jr. was so loyal to Gorilla over the years, a he sold his shares to the younger McMahon when he wouldn’t necessarily have to have done so.

He also owned part of the Puerto Rico territory in the 1970s and 1980s.

45. Do you see any similar traits between Ludvig Borga and Brock Lesnar?

There’s a slight physical resemblance in that they are both large, blond Caucasian males who have sported crew cuts during their lives. Otherwise, they are completely different human beings and could not be any more different in their levels of skill as professional wrestlers and MMA fighters.

46. WWE has a YouTube section for all their Royal Rumbles except 1999. Why is this?

Maybe this has changed since the question was submitted, but as of this writing the full Royal Rumble match from 1999 is, in fact, available on YouTube through WWE.

47. Out of 10 points what do Kane & X-Pac score as a tag team?

Five. I recall nothing spectacular nor anything offensive about them as a duo. I did chuckle when Kane said “suck it” into his voice box.

48. Does Bobby Lashley deserve an extra star for being Trump’s representative in the hair vs hair match?

I don’t know what you mean by “extra star,” but, current world politics aside, it certainly is a major feather in Lashley’s cap that he was part of the main event of what was, for many years, the biggest drawing Wrestlemania in history.

49. Did Vince McMahon have a brother or sister?

Yes, he had one brother named Roderick James McMahon, or Rod for short. He lived in Texas for most of his adult life and had his own business, selling steel products in the oil industry. He never had any connection to professional wrestling.

However, when they found out that Vince had a brother, I remember a lot of dodgy newsboards during the Attitude Era baselessly claiming he would eventually be brought into the WWF as a character.

Rod McMahon passed away on January 20, 2021 at the age of 77. In another interesting piece of trivia, Vince and Rod’s mother, Victoria Askew, outlived Rod by about a year, dying on January 20, 2022 at the age of 101.

50. During 2025 is Jon Moxley top 10?

No.

51. I’ll always send you questions. I asked GROK the X – AI if Goldberg was a top 10 of all time, what do you think as a human lol

I do not think that Bill Goldberg is one of the top ten humans of all time.

52. Do you prefer heel Paul White or face Paul White?

Paul White is an New England indy wrestler better known as Drake Carter who wrestled from 2007 to 2020 and has the distinction of being trained by Gillberg. I have never seen him wrestle and thus cannot evaluate whether he was better as a face or a heel.

I’m guessing you are actually referring to Paul Wight, a.k.a. The Big Show. I’ve always preferred him as a heel. His face character has often been happy go lucky to the point of being dopey. Whether you’re a heel or a babyface, if you’re a giant I feel as though your character should have more of an edge, unless you’re just meant to be purely comedic like the Oddities or babyface Great Khali. Wight lacked that edge as a face, but he always had it as a heel.

53. When Ric Flair vs Macho Man headlined Wrestlemania, what did that mean to Macho Man and what did that mean to Flair?

I wouldn’t say they headlined the show, because even though it was billed as a double main event, the reality is that more focus was on Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Justice, and that is the match that drew the house for the evening.

That being said, I’m sure their position on the card meant a pretty nice payday for both men, though I can’t imagine either one of them viewed it as a particularly large professional accomplishment, because they had both already been on top of bigger shows multiple times by that point in their careers.

54. In today’s current landscape, order these wrestlers, 1 to 5: Moxley, Breaker, Hangman, Orton, LA Knight.

1. Breaker, 2. Orton, 3. Knight, 4. Hangman, 5. Moxley

55. You are in your seat, Monday night RAW. Hoss match, Kane vs Big Show! Pick the winner.

I’d prefer that the Big Show win, but each man has plenty of victories over the other.

55. I honesty don’t know the details, but was Roddy Pipper let go from his WWE Legends contract because of his beef with Austin? Please help. I believe Ric Flair has a scoop talking with both guys but I’m having problems finding source material.

Here’s the deal.

Back in July 2015, both Steve Austin and Roddy Piper had podcasts with the network PodcastOne. Piper started hyping an episode of his show in which he claimed Austin would be a guest. However, when the episode dropped, the guest was actually Will Sasso, a comedian known for his work on MadTV who appeared on both WWE and WCW programming over the years, having a match with Bret Hart on Nitro and eating a Stunner from Austin on Raw. During the podcast ep, Sasso did a Steve Austin impression, which was something he had done publicly several times in the past, including on both MadTV and Raw.

Shortly thereafter, Roddy Piper was let go from his deal with Podcast One. He went on a Twitter rampage, claiming that Austin got him fired because Stone Cold was upset by the Sasso interview.

Then, Ric Flair on his own podcast claimed that Piper was released from his WWE Legends deal, also because of the Sasso/Austin incident.

Piper died on July 31, 2015, just a couple weeks after all this unfolded.

Here’s the thing, though. It appears none of this actually happened.

In response to the Hot Rod’s Twitter rant, Austin stated on the next episode of his show that he had nothing to do with Piper departing Podcast One and that he didn’t want to deal with any drama because he was a grown man trying to live his own life.

Austin’s account is backed by the July 13, 2015 issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, which reported that Piper actually requested a release from his PodcastOne deal, claiming to management that he didn’t have time to record more episodes because he was working on his autobiography. However, just a few weeks after that, Piper had a new podcast deal recording audio on Soundcloud.

The July 20 Observer went on to say “there was talk” of Piper being cut from his Legends deal but that, according to WWE sources, he was still under contract despite those rumors.

So the reality is that Piper was a little nutty and manufactured this tale about Austin, likely to keep his name in the news and/or to have a cover story about why he was no longer with PodcastOne. Why Flair thought that Roddy had been let go from his Legends contract is anybody’s guess, but contemporaneous reporting from folks who would know better than the Nature Boy indicates that it never happened.

56. Do you think Hulk Hogan was mildly disappointed that at Wrestlemania III Randy Savage was the MVP of the event?

No, because I don’t think Hulk Hogan viewed Randy Savage as the MVP of the event. Yes, most folks feel that Savage and Ricky Steamboat had the best match of the evening from an action perspective, but it’s not as though that match was so great that it overshadowed Hogan’s match with Andre the Giant as a moment. Everybody knew Hogan and Andre drew the house, and that was the bout more etched into fans’ consciousnesses at the end of the day, “workrate” be damned.

57. I know Ted Turner entered sailing completions. Is there anything you can show me that verifies Vince’s yacht?

Though I don’t know if he still owns it to this day, it was widely reported in 2010, including in this article from political news site Politico that Vince McMahon owned a yacht called the Sexy Bitch.

58. Dennis Rodman or Logan Paul?

Logan Paul blows away anything Dennis Rodman ever did in professional wrestling, both in terms of in-ring performance and building a character. It’s not even close.

Paul was never married to Carmen Electra, though, so he loses out on that metric.

59. What’s a pretty good, underrated Elimination Chamber match?

Honestly, huge multi-person gimmick matches like that all blend together for me, to the point that I can’t tell you one is any better than the other. I feel the same way about Money in the Bank. I’ll always prefer a great singles bout.

60. Name one female and one male as the best Elimination Chamber wrestlers.

See my prior answer.

61. I think Brock should win another big championship in WWE, do you?

No, I don’t think he needs it at this point. There are plenty of compelling stories that you can tell with Brock at this phase of his career that don’t involve him winning a championship.

62. Who would win a matchup between Dino Bravo and Arn Anderson?

Whoever the booker told them was winning.

63. What’s Chavo Guerrero Jr.’s best match?

He was actually involved in a really good tag team match at TNA’s Bound for Glory show back in 2012, teaming with Hotstuff Hernandez against the teams of Bad Influence and AJ Styles & Kurt Angle.

64. What happened in the Sami Zayn versus Jeff Hardy match?

There were two Zayn versus Hardy matches, one of them taped on October 2, 2020 for Smackdown and one of them taped on November 12, 2021 for Smackdown. Both of them were fairly standard television bouts, and I’m not sure what you want me to say about what happened in them beyond that. The series is tied 1-1, with each man having a victory.

65. Does Matt Riddle return to WWE?

Anything can happen, but Riddle has a ton of baggage between past sexual assault allegations, drug use, and claims of screwing over indy promoters. Granted, there are a ton of guys in WWE now and in the past who have been no angels, but there is so much talent out there in the wrestling world right now that is as good as if not better than Riddle to the point that I don’t know why, given his history, you’d ever give him another shot as compared to some on else.

66. Including TVs, house shows and PPVs how many times did Ken Shamrock get a WWF Championship shot?

Eight.

Of those, three were televised, those being a no contest against Bret Hart on the October 21, 1997 episode of Monday Night Raw, a DQ win over Shawn Michaels at In Your House: D-Generation X, and a no contest against Steve Austin on the September 14, 1998 episode of Monday Night Raw.

Shamrock also had four house show WWF Championship matches in 1997, facing Bret Hart on August 9 and October 10 of that year and then Hart and Triple H in triple threat matches on October 12 and 13.

His final crack at the WWF’s top prize occurred on December 14, 1998 in a dark match after a Monday Night Raw taping. It was a four-way match with the Rock as champion and Mankind and the Big Bossman as the other two challengers.

67. Did Hacksaw Jim Duggan suffer any injuries that kept him out of action?

Duggan had a largely injury-free career, or at least he was willing to work through most problems that he had. I did see reports of him having a knee issue in 2008 when he was part of the WWE roster, which kept him out of action until the 2009 Royal Rumble. However, that’s the only record I could find of him missing significant time due to an injury.

He did take many months off between 1998 and 1999 while undergoing treatment for kidney cancer and recovering from surgery to have the issue removed, but that wouldn’t qualify as an “injury” per most people’s definitions.

68. Out of 10, does Rob Van Dam’s “One A Kind” theme song score?

I’ll give it a seven. It’s got a catchy hook that makes it very effective as a wrestling theme that you only have to hear on television for twenty or thirty seconds, but if you try to listen to the entire cut of the song it gets a bit too repetitive for my tastes (which is actually the case with most wrestling themes).

69. Considering Big Show vs Mark Henry has 20 million views on YouTube, do monsters draw more eyeballs than 200 pound guys?

No, because there are plenty of WWE YouTube videos featuring wrestlers of all different weights that have more views than that.

In fact, I found a Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr. match that, as of this writing, has 49 million views, meaning that guys named “Junior” draw more than monsters by your logic.

70. Was the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers big forward line in the 90s “The Legion of Doom” (Linrdros, LeClair, Renberg) named after Hawk & Animal?

Yup. Fellow Flyers player from the era, Jim Montgomery, has been on podcasts saying that the name arose from a conversation that he had about the line with a friend of his who was a big wrestling fan, and the Legion of Doom nickname came from there.

That being said, the use of the “Legion of Doom” in pro wrestling goes back to 1983, where it was the name of the stable managed by Paul Ellering in Georgia Championship Wrestling. The Road Warriors were part of that stable, and the LOD name stuck with them in the background over the years before becoming the regular name for their team in the WWF. Ellering’s crew took the name from the 1978 cartoon series Challenge of the Super Friends, which was about DC Comics superheroes teaming up to battle a league of thirteen villains called the Legion of Doom.

We’ll return in seven-ish days, and, as always, you can contribute your questions by emailing [email protected]. You can also leave questions in the comments below, but please note that I do not monitor the comments as closely as I do the email account, so emailing is the better way to get things answered.